The GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) formula for determining a business's profit is Sales – Expenses = Profit. It is simple, logical and clear. Unfortunately, it's a lie. The formula, while logically accurate, does not account for human behavior. In the GAAP formula profit is a left over, a final consideration, something that is hopefully a nice surprise at the end of the year. Alas, the profit is rarely there and the business continues on its check to check survival. With Profit First you to flip the formula to Sales – Profit = Expenses. Logically the math is the same, but from the standpoint of the entrepreneur's behavior, it is radically different. With Profit First, you take a predetermined percentage of profit from every sale first, and only the remainder is available for expenses.
Most entrepreneurs don't have the time or gumption to read the different accounting statements necessary to manage the financial aspect of their business. Theoretically, you should review and correlate your Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Statement monthly (or more frequently), but few entrepreneurs do. Most resort to bank balance accounting, where we check our bank balance every day and make financial decisions based upon what we see. Per Parkinson's Law, we consume what we see in our bank account. Profit First encourages the entrepreneur to continue bank balance accounting by first allocating money to profit (and other accounts) so that the entrepreneur sees the actual portion of deposits that are available for expenses and they automatically adjust their spending accordingly.
Many entrepreneurs try to force themselves to become better at accounting and to become more disciplined in their fiscal management by pure willpower. But just like a muscle, willpower can be drained. And in a moment of financial stress or bigger than expected expenses the entrepreneur will break their own fiscal rules and spend the money they have. The Profit First principle does not try to change your habits (that is nearly impossible to do), Profit First works with your existing habits. By first allocating money to different accounts, and then removing the temptation to borrow from yourself, your business will become fiscally strong and you will benefit from regular profit distributions.
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